Content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or health, safety, legal or financial advice. Click here for additional information.

An Unexpected Father’s Day in NYC

Our original plan for Father’s Day was fairly low key. Zinashi and I chose a gift for Jarod online, had it shipped to our house, and hid it under the bed. We were going to wrap it and make homemade cards just in the nick of time, then treat him to whatever he wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I hadn’t thought much beyond those general plans. Zinashi, Elvie, and I were due to arrive back from our trip to New York City late the Wednesday night before Father’s Day, so I figured that if we wanted to make any more detailed plans, we’d have time to do it. Little did I know that we’d be spending Father’s Day in New York City. But Elvie’s hospitalization prompted us to decide to have Jarod fly in to comfort both girls (and me, to be honest) and help us get home on our long flight from New York City to San Francisco. It is a testament to what a great husband and father he is that, in the midst of a very important week for him at work, he made it work to come be with us.

Elvie was discharged from the hospital Friday morning, and I thought we might make it home for Father’s Day, but getting all three of us on the same flight wasn’t easy, and pretty soon we knew that we’d spend Father’s Day in New York. This was Jarod’s first Father’s Day as a father of two, and I wanted it to be special, but there wasn’t much time for planning. Luckily, there’s so much to do in New York City that we were able to have an amazing day celebrating our favorite guy, simply by following our growling stomachs and stumbling across some worthwhile things to do along the way. Here is what we did.

Unexpected, yes. Awesome, definitely.

Given the choice of cities in which to spend Father’s Day, NYC would not be at the top of Jarod’s list, but we found plenty of things to do that were appropriate to celebrating the man who flew across the country to bring us together as a family when Elvie got sick.

We started the day with doughnuts.

There’s a doughnut shop in New York City that is our family favorite, and it was a no-brainer to pop in to grab breakfast. Because a lot of dads like doughnuts, the place was packed, so we took our doughnuts to go and found our way to Madison Square Park for a little breakfast picnic.

A little playground break was up next.

Both kids had plenty of energy to release after eating doughnuts, and luckily there was a playground nearby. Elvie squealed with delight when Jarod took her down the big, curvy slide.

Happening upon a film set on our walk was serendipitous.

I hadn’t done enough research to know that there was a chase scene for a movie being filmed on Madison Avenue, but we lucked into it. We found a good spot to sit and watch, and both of the kids both loved seeing the cars zoom by. For Jarod, this was one of his favorite parts of the day.

For lunch, one of our fave vacation eateries.

When we travel, we love to go to London, and we frequent a sandwich shop chain there because we all can find something we like, and the food is fresh. This same chain has opened locations around New York City, and we were able to get to one without any fuss. We chose our favorite items, and Jarod even got a second can of his favorite ginger drink for later. It’s such a small thing, but it was a highlight for all of us.

Grand Central Terminal is always worth a visit.

And now that they have the store for tech nerds there, it’s exactly the right place for Jarod to visit. He hadn’t been there since the store was opened, so we went in to explore and see what we thought.

We topped it off with dessert in Central Park.

Before leaving Grand Central via subway on our way to Central Park, we grabbed some dessert at a bakery so we could enjoy it while we people watched in the park. The dessert was delicious, and the company was just right. It was the perfect end to a day in the city. While we wouldn’t want the same circumstances ever again, this Father’s Day was memorable and special. We’re so glad that we spent it all together in NYC.

FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestE-mail

Comments

Add to the conversation

Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, profile photo and other personal information you make public on Facebook (e.g., school, work, current city, age) will appear with your comment. Learn More.

Content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or health, safety, legal or financial advice. Click here for additional information.

Content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or health, safety, legal or financial advice. Click here for additional information.